Justin Trudeau sought a "pause" on trade negotiations with India

As the Canadian leader gets ready to fly to New Delhi for the Group of 20 leaders' summit, the administration of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sought a "pause" on trade negotiations with India in the past month.

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The delay, which was started by Trudeau's staff and first reported by the Canadian Press on Friday, was confirmed by India's high commissioner to Canada.

According to Sanjay Kumar Verma in an email statement, the Canadian side has proposed a "pause" to the current quick-moving negotiations on an early-progress trade agreement with India.

The 'pause' will likely allow for more stakeholder consultations, he said, however I am not aware of the specific reason(s) for it.

According to senior official briefing reporters about Trudeau's forthcoming trip to India, trade negotiations are drawn-out, complicated processes, and Canada has halted to assess the situation.

When Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal visited Ottawa in May, things seemed upbeat on all sides. Ng claimed that the early-progress pact, which would initially concentrate on a small number of industries rather than the entire economy, was getting closer to being signed.

Trade agreement with India

Since a decade ago, Canada has had occasional trade talks with India, but in recent years, the Trudeau administration has intensified its efforts to diversify its economy away from China. Part of that more comprehensive Indo-Pacific plan is a trade agreement with India.

There have been calls for Trudeau's administration to make a trade agreement contingent on India respecting the human rights of religious minorities because his nation is home to a sizable Indian diaspora, notably a substantial Sikh population outside of India.

This year's G20 will be presided over by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and a number of Trudeau's ministers have already met with their Indian counterparts during the summer.

It's not yet known if Trudeau will personally meet with Modi during his trip to New Delhi for the leaders' summit next weekend.

When asked if Trudeau would bring up human rights concerns with Modi, the government official responded that the Canadian leader does so with all of his international partners.

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